CAUSES OF TEOUBLE. 557 



If the horse is out of sorts, over-fed in proportion to his 

 work, becomes dainty, or the depurative processes are 

 obstructed by the feeding of too much or of two hisrhly 

 concentrated food, let up on the grain, and feed more bran 

 mashes or green food. 



Old horses that are not feeding well, or are running 

 down without apparent cause, should have the teeth care- 

 fully examined (see article on The Teeth), as sometimes 

 the horse cannot grind his feed. The simplest way of 

 making an examination, is to catch the tongue, and, with 

 the hand closed, let its under part rest upon the lower jaw^ 

 with the end of the thumb forced upward against the roof 

 of the mouth. (See illustration of giving ball.) This will 

 compel the horse to keep his mouth open, so as to enable 

 looking into it or passing the hand far enough back to 

 examine the teeth. If they are found to be the cause of 

 the trouble, they should be filed down, as directed under 

 that head. 



Watering. 



If a large quantity of cold water is taken into the 

 stomach while the system is agitated, by the circulation 

 being so increased as to open the pores of the skin freely, 

 it is liable to chill the stomach and close the pores of the 

 skin, and thus excite some one of the common alimentary 

 derangements, as colic or inflammation of the bowels, etc- 

 Hard water, especially cold well water, is more liable to 

 cause mischief in this way than soft water. Hard water 

 wiU affect some horses so much as to almost immediately 

 cause the hair to look rough or staring, and derange the 

 appetite. Horses that are raised and worked in a country 

 where the water is strongly impregnated with lime, are 

 troubled with intestinal calculi ; /. <?., stone in the bladder. 

 Hence soft water should be given, if convenient ; but if 



